I personally know no fewer than 5 American women that think Matt Smith is the cutest thing since....ever. Granted they are all DW fans but most of them started with the show under his tenure and went back to watch the others. The American DW fandom of geeks loves him, but then again geeks like us are very loyal. I could see things working out for Matt Smith here if he landed a sitcom. He'd have to get used to theAmerican production schedule though, which would take some getting used to compared to the British one. All he needs to break out is one solid show, and in Nathan Fillion-esque fashion he'll start to have career wiggle room.
As loyal as geeks are... there aren't as many of us as we think there are... Or, the TV and film landscape would be VASTLY different. Firefly might still be on... or at least there would be a sequel to the movie. BSG might have successfully transferred to NBC when they tried it many moons ago. And Fillion had two failed shows, Miss Match and Drive, and this is AFTER Firefly, before he hit success with Castle. And, one wonders, would he play British? Or use an American accent? The accent worked for Hugh Laurie, but not for Sarah Alexander. The American accent did NOT work for David Tennant. If I was Smith's agent, I would tell him to avoid American TV, and just go for the movies.
Does anyone know when the next series has been confirmed in the past? Is this unusually late? Or, does it just feel that way? Mr Awe
I'm not sure it's shortsighted; it depends on one's definition of expanding one's career. Smith seems like a smart guy - he knows he's always going to be remembered as the Doctor, there's no point trying to fight that. But, if he could find decent enough regular work in the States, where he seems to enjoy the style and pace of working, then he'd probably be happy. Actors don't necessarily measure their success in terms of the level of mainstream recognition they get, or the awards they may get; provided we (yes, we) can put a roof over our head and support ourselves (and possibly our dependents), we tend to think more about job satisfaction (that is, once you've "made it" to a certain degree, of course!). Many actors tend to think of themselves as artists, and acting as being more than just a job; it can get frustrating being tied to one role and one routine for too long (most people are, of course, with most regular jobs, but actors are usually a bit flakey and childlike, and not good at sitting still for long periods of time!) and eventually the time comes when they feel the need to move on and seek other challenges. It's always a gamble, but that's the nature of the game. As for typecasting, Tom Baker believed that the Doctor wasn't "an acting part", and freely admits that he essentially played an idealised version of himself for seven years. Perhaps inevitably, when he sought to move on he found it difficult to break out of the perception that casting directors and the general public had of him. Frankly, I think Smith, who is very different from his Doctor, has much more of a range (or at least has chosen to display it more readily) to be able to break out of the Doctor persona. The projects he's chosen outside of the show up to this point have arguably demonstrated that. Tennant's doing pretty well - Hollywood hasn't worked out spectacularly for him (although I suspect fatherhood has played a role in that being a conscious decision on his part), but he's popping up all over the place on British TV in a wide variety of roles, and I can see Smith doing the same even if he doesn't manage to crack America. True, but his schedule on Doctor Who is more intense than anything else on UK TV. He'd be going from being the lead in a show in which he's in at least 90% of scenes and pretty much carries the whole thing (with the amount of insanely complex lines he has to learn - an enormous workload for one person, even by US standards) to likely an ensemble show which may have a more intense schedule on paper, but where he could share some of the stress among a larger cast.
^ I'll respect his choice either way. I have loved him as the Doctor but understand that he needs to do what is best for him. Mr Awe
Series two was confirmed in March 2005, four days after "Rose" aired, while series three was confirmed in June 2005, two days before "The Parting of the Ways" aired. Series four was confirmed in March 2007, shortly before series three aired, while the specials and series five were confirmed in September 2007. Series six was confirmed in March 2010, shortly before series five aired, while series seven was confirmed in June 2011, just after the first half of series six finished. As you can see, generally the announcements are timed to publicity for episodes that have just aired or are just about to. (The specials and series five were announced at an odd time, because the RSC's announcement about Tennant playing Hamlet forced the BBC's hand.) It's been a while since the last announcement, but that's only because series seven and the anniversary special are being broadcast over such a long time. Same with the two and a half years between the specials/series five and series six announcements. If they're not filming any of series 8 this year, there's not much cause to formally announce it until around the time of the anniversary and Christmas specials. If it's going to start filming this autumn following the Christmas special, they'll probably announce it before too much longer. There's also the question of whether they'll have to include the revelation of a new Doctor in the announcement...
I can't remember now, but I can remember it for sure. Unless I dreamed it, but I'm pretty sure they said that. Unfortunately, yes. He' on board. Luckily though, it's his last series. So hopefully he'll have little if any involvement in choosing the 12th doctor. I think he's pretty bad at casting other than Smith himself. River to me wasn't right for Smith. She's too strong a character and would have worked so much better with Eccleston. Then again, I think she was cast in mind that the 11th doctor would be older as that was Moffat's original intention. Didn't like the casting of Amy and Rorry either, and loads of the back characters also suck I think. I like Clara though.
I'll bet Series 8 is contracted for by the BBC and it would have to be to lock in it's star (Matt) before he would go off to do other things. WE are just not privy to that information.
Moffat didn't have anything to do with casting Alex Kingston as River. That was handled by RTD and his people when they thought Tennant would be sticking around long enough to have a few adventures with her.
Moffat hit a home run with Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Jenna Louise Coleman. Those 3 successes are enough for me to say he's pretty good at casting.
Honestly, Matt Smith is the first Doctor I'm in no rush to see go. Maybe it's because he's just now getting his second companion, or new costume, or the redesigned Tardis, but they've managed to keep things fresh with him. Aesthetics aside, I just think he's got it. He plays childish/endearing and dark/world-weary much better than Tennant or Eccelston did in my opinion. I think my favorite moment of this was in "Asylum of the Daleks" where the Supreme Dalek states they've arrived at the planet, and right before the Doctor asks where, he sort of closes his eyes with this "I'm so tired of this" look that last just a brief second. Gold. This also seems the first Doctor who's had major character development. Eleven's gone (as another poster pointed out) from being a father-figure to Amy, to being almost like a long-lost son to her and Rory. He's also learned to stay in contact with his friends (checking up on Craig, Amy and Rory, etc) rather than leaving and never looking back. Not that I expect Matt Smith to stay in the role forever, but I wouldn't mind another two years at least. There just seems so much he can still do with the character. It's definitely going to be a sad for me when he does leave.
And of course in another reality River looks suspiciously like Kate Winslet Yeah, people go on about how shouty he is but he can be very calm and quiet when he wants to be. I love his goodbye to Amy when he's about to fly off in the Pandorica, and later when he st's by little Amelia's bed. He really is a great Doctor.
The biggest problem with his performance is not his acting but being asked to do the same couple of things over and over again. It does show up the limitations of the role from a variety of acting challenge perspective.